FISHING REPORT
Lake Erie and tributaries
(Erie County): Wind and waves did not accommodate fishing last weekend. But by Tuesday, boaters were launching and anglers were in the streams. Yellow perch were spotty in the bay, and an Erie spin fisherman who has caught and released five Northern pike in the lagoons this year said he hadn’t had a hit since the storm. Smaller tributaries were clear by midweek while the bigger streams were slightly cloudy and still dropping. Steelhead remained at or near the mouths of creeks that remained unseasonably cool. The creek-spawn smallmouth bass run continued on select streams. Sunny to partly cloudy skies and temperatures in the mid-70s through the week were expected to give way to scattered showers Saturday and Sunday.
Pymatuning Reservoir (Crawford County): Wind and rain chased most anglers off the water until early in the week. Shore anglers continued to catch bluegills and crappies from shore near the Jamestown docks. Last week, Martin Donbee of Conneaut landed a 22-inch channel catfish taken on cut bait near Linesville.
Woodcock Creek (Crawford County): A sublegal muskellunge gave Mark Jeffley of Meadville a “terrific fight” when it took a crankbait in the spillway pool. The fish was released.
Lake Wilhelm (Mercer County): Days before the storm, a fat 20-inch bass took a soft plastic lure and was released off of Launch No. 1. Two savage hits on the same bait were missed within an hour.
Lake Arthur (Butler County): With the cold front gone and morning water temperature at 57 degrees, Joe Fazio of Mount Washington reported dozens of mature crappies caught Tuesday morning on soft plastics over cover in 9 feet of water. The purveyor of Crappie Crushin’ TV released the fish.
Connoquenessing Creek (Butler County): A week after the final spring stocking, an 18-inch rainbow trout took live bait below the Route 422 bridge.
Bradys Run Lake (Beaver County): Before the bad weather, several anglers reported trout 12-14 inches taken on live bait and spinners. Monday evening, two anglers from Bridgewater caught and released several trout that went for streamers east of the island.
North Park Lake (Allegheny
County): Before the storm, anglers reported trout caught on worms above the upper dam, salmon eggs off Pierce Mill Road and jigs with white or watermelon-colored Twister tails in the pond below the spillway lot.
Canonsburg Lake (Washington County): David Severs of Washington, Pa., reported six rainbow trout caught since the season opened April 2.
File your fishing report and high-resolution digital photos (1MB minimum) at fishingreport@post-gazette.com. Include name, age (for under 18 years), town, species, size, body of water and details of the catch.